Fall Classic half marathon report. Today I was a runner.

 

This morning I participated in the Fall Classic Half Marathon in Strongsville Ohio with my racing wheelchair.The goal was to have fun and try to gauge my training to this point. I have had the chair since June, and with the exception of a 5k, I have only ever used it to train in. I felt that with as hard as I had worked these past few months, it would be a bummer to not celebrate it by going out and putting forth my best effort.

     

















The day was cold. about 30 F. I bundled up as best I could. The course was flat, so it was almost a continuous push from start to finish. No climbs, but no then no recovery. I worked hard and finished with  1:40.41. My pace was 7:41 per mile. This is what I was hoping for. A strong sustained effort. sub 8 min per mile.

My only issues came with the start. I was started with all the runners. I lined up near the front and back a little. My goal was to allow the fast runners out quickly while I built speed, but not be held up behind the slowest runners. Once I got moving, I had to navigate around a dense collection of runners. Most responded to my alerts "wheelchair back. On your left". But many were plugged in and had tuned the sounds of the world out. I had to use a lot of care when passing the ipod army.
My plastic "glove" began to cause me irritation to my palm. I will make modifications in the future.
The spider tack worked well, but was difficult because of the cold.
All in all it was a blast. I was the only wheeler, so I just raced myself. I really like racing the chair. It is more like running than anything so far.
I felt like a runner today.

Flat tire and adhesives

Today I went out for a short ride in the racing chair. My overall time nothing special, but I stopped to adjust my foot rest, and to repair a flat. The flat probably also slowed me for about half a mile. I also ran into a friend just as I began climbing my big hill, so I decided to not worry much about time. I also used the spider tack for the first time and was adjusting to a new position in the chair.
Today was a taper day anyhow. My main priority was to get a feel for the new position and to try out the tacky stuff. It seemed to work well, but I could have used a little more. I also plan to put some electrical tape on the front bar and add some of the adhesive to that, so I will be able to apply more to my gloves as needed.
As for the new position, I felt good in that position and feel confident that it will allow me to get maximum propulsion during the half marathon Sunday. There was only one point, when I felt the front lift unexpectedly.
Tomorrow is an off day. No workouts at all, and Saturday will be very short.